15-Year-Old Shia LaBeouf Wrote a Poem About America for the Disney Channel

Last week, Shia LaBeouf showed off his skills as a rapper. But he's also a poet. Some might remember the poem he recited at the 2015 Grammys, and it turns out that all the way back when he was just a Disney Channel star (one most knew as Louis Stevens), he read an original work of his as part of Disney Channel's insanely awkward "Express Yourself" videos.

If you're what the olds call a "millennial," you might remember these short, minute-long spots in which stars of the channel's most popular shows would unveil something "real" about themselves. Most of them were silly (like the one where everyone talks about their dog), but in the wake of September 11, 2001, Shia LaBeouf decided to swing for the fences when he read his own poem, titled "One Man." His intentions were pure and earnest (and the dude was only 15), but the results were maybe ill-advised for Disney Channel.

Disney certainly didn't do young LaBeouf any favors in terms of making this video any less awkward, from showcasing the American flag in the background to including a slow motion shot of LaBeouf saluting the camera at the end. If anything, this video was simply foreshadowing the numerous performance art pieces LaBeouf has done over the past few years. It's also a scary peek into the world of child actors. Imagine you wrote a not-so-great poem, only to have your agent and the TV network you work for say, "Do us a favor and share it with millions of kids around the country, would you now?"

Is this the video America needs right now as we're still trying to wrap our heads around this year's major tragedy, the thing we're now calling Trump's America? That's up to you. Look, we're not saying Shia LaBeouf is America's savior, but to lift from his poem, "Yeah we've had some tough times, but we're still alive." God bless America.

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